The study of ice shelf-ocean interaction—techniques and recent results

Although the importance to global oceanography of ice shelf-ocean interactions has been recognized for many years, only more recently has its role in the control of ice flow from the interior, grounded ice sheet into the ocean been more clearly understood. The consequences for global sea level of in...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Nicholls, Keith W.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Polar Research Institute of China - PRIC 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:http://library.arcticportal.org/2668/
http://library.arcticportal.org/2668/1/A1803008.pdf
Description
Summary:Although the importance to global oceanography of ice shelf-ocean interactions has been recognized for many years, only more recently has its role in the control of ice flow from the interior, grounded ice sheet into the ocean been more clearly understood. The consequences for global sea level of increasing ice loss from the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets has prompted rapidly growing research efforts in this area. Here we describe the different techniques commonly employed in the field study of ice shelf-ocean interactions. We focus on techniques used by the British Antarctic Survey, primarily on Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf, and describe some recent results from instruments deployed both beneath the ice shelf and on its upper surface, which demonstrate variability at a broad range of time scales.